Out in the Dark

Israeli director Michael Mayer's debut feature is a strong tale of a good man caught between several kinds of possible destruction. Nimr (Nicholas Jacob), a Palestinian pursuing studies in psychology in Tel Aviv, has permission to travel into the city, but must return home to his family at night. This situation complicates his already secret life as a gay man seeking companionship, which Nimr achieves one night when he meets Roy (Michael Aloni), a Jewish lawyer. Their relationship endangers Nimr in his own community, where gay men are both despised and considered possible spies who are reporting—under threat from Israeli security—on Palestinian militants. Even Nimr's older brother casts him out after discovering the truth about his sibling's sexuality, essentially putting a target on the young student's back. Mayer effectively contrasts scenes of tension and violence with the tenderness that Roy and Nimr feel for one another. Recommended. (T. Keogh)